Purchasing new pallets have significant numbers of benefits than you can imagine. Maybe you have required your employees to work overtime to catch up on a load of orders that need to be accomplished. However, they still get behind of schedule, and on the day of delivery, the pallet shatters, and all the products are left scattered on the floor. Unfortunately, the delivery gets delayed, and you have an additional cost on the overtime payroll. What may have caused this trouble– because you weren’t using new pallets, but recycled ones. We have listed six reasons why new pallets are a better choice when transporting products from one place to another. 

Reason 1: Consistent Construction

You can never go wrong with the consistency of quality of new pallets. Every group of new pallets is manufactured under the same predetermined classifications. Consistency is one of the main requirements of a high standard, a heavy-regulated industry that manufactures new pallets. This level of consistency will not be the case for recycled pallet because it is hard to determine where they initially came from. While recycled pallets may have the same sizes in terms of dimension, their thickness will more likely come in different numbers. A recycled pallet comes from various companies, sorted out, and repaired while new pallets are made from a standard new soft or hardwood material that has the same board and stringer dimension and thickness. 

Reason 2: Virgin Quality

The simple definition of new pallets is pallets that have never been used before. Brand new pallets can stand up to 8-10 trips and is sturdier than a refurbished pallet that has been used for at least five times in delivery. Recycled pallets may still undergo damage or incur cracks even without apparent issues. These damages may not be visible beneath the stringers, but they can cause the pallet to go weak. When the pallet is full of products, the unthinkable can happen. By purchasing a new pallet, you can avoid this scenario from taking place. 

Reason 3: Availability

Using brand new pallets is more favorable in terms of availability. A company that recycles pallets depend on its supply in the market which may be scarce at times. They may not be able to provide the needed amount of pallet required to manufacture recycled ones. New pallets will not easily run out because lumber mills always have wood to manufacture. Buying brand new pallets will assure you of a constant flow of supply because they don’t depend on recycled pallets. While recycled pallets experience regular scarcity of supply, now and then, new pallets will secure a more efficient supply chain. Recycled pallets undergo challenges in terms of availability once every 4-5 years due to various factors, including import and export laws. This is very unlikely to happen with new pallet production. 

Reason 4: Unique Specification

You may be wondering if it is impossible for recycled pallets to be made into a custom specification. The answer to that is no. Recycled pallets can be manufactured to custom specifications, however, to a certain limitation. For instance, it is extremely difficult and even impossible for recyclers to build pallets with extra-large lengths and thickness. Recycled pallets often cannot produce products of these sizes. Most often than not, pallets that need deck boards that are more than 11/16″ thick require new wood materials. What other companies do is to buy both recycled and new materials to still save on cash. It is wise to consider the use of new pallets in your business to avoid getting a phone call from a recycler saying that they don’t have enough supply to cater to your demands. 

Reason 5: Strength

You may have seen a pallet with metal pieces on its side to hold it together. This is a typical scenario when using recycled pallets because they are not as durable as brand new pallets. Although this doesn’t entirely make recycled pallets unsafe, it is still undeniable that new pallets are more reliable and stronger, which means your products are safe and far from getting damaged. 

Reason 6: Cleanliness

If you want the assurance that a pallet has not been compromised in any manner, using a new pallet is the way to go. This is especially true if you are going to use the pallet for medical and food products. When you go for new pallets, the manufacturer can demonstrate how their pallets are made, and you can expect the same level of standard for each delivery. However, with recycled pallets, it is difficult and even impossible to trace its history, which can be an issue for safety standards inspection. 

For instance, a famous food company outsourced the service of an auditor to ensure the quality of pallets relative to safety and cleanliness. One of the main issues is that they couldn’t assure that the pallets are neat and were never kept outside in its entire life span because it is made from recycled materials. It is safe to assume that they were placed outside one time throughout their existence. Purchasing new pallets may have caused them more money, but investing in it solved every safety and quality issues they faced. 

Disadvantage

One of the disadvantages of new pallets is its pricing. New pallets are more expensive because of the materials used to produce them. Nevertheless, using new pallets which typically costs 30-50% more than recycled pallets are worth it and can give you an assurance that they will not let you down in terms of inspections done by OSHA, AIB, FDA.